I am a literary giant in Japan

Chapter 218: Teacher Beichuan’s record was surpassed for the first time!
Discrimination against dancing girls and geishas in all walks of life in Japanese society has never disappeared.

However, it is relatively rare to see discriminatory statements being posted so blatantly.

Rongji and the middle-aged geisha were not surprised by this, but it was the first time for Kaoru and the other two to encounter such a thing. Their heads, which were already almost lowered to their toes, moved down further, and they dared not look others in the eye.

The teahouse refused to accept them, so the touring troupe could only say goodbye to Kitagawa Hide and the other man with a wry smile, pick up their bags and performance props, and go down the mountain to find a new place to stay while it was still light.

When saying goodbye to them, Yumeko took off her earrings and exchanged them for Kaoru's handkerchief. Kaoru wrapped the earrings in the new handkerchief with great care and waved goodbye to them reluctantly.

Before leaving, Rongji told Kitagawa Hide that they would stay in Minamiizu for a few more days and would return to Oshima only after the marathon officially ended.

If you have time, you can always go to the village at the foot of the mountain to watch their performance.

After watching the touring artist group leave, the smile on Mengzi's face gradually disappeared. She sighed, took Kitagawa Hide's hand, and walked into the crowded teahouse with him.

Without the group of dancing girls and geishas, ​​many climbers came to talk to Kitagawa Hide, praising his evaluation of "The Burmese Harp" at the circus just now, and began to talk about literature.

Mengzi had no interest in these meaningless topics. She sipped her tea, propped her chin up with her hand, and couldn't help muttering to herself, "I wonder where Sister Xun and the others will stay tonight."

"Who knows where those people live? An artist group like them who has no fixed place to stay, how can they have a fixed residence?

Generally, we stay where there are guests."

A middle-aged man who claimed to be from Osaka said this with contempt.

The climbers who understood the implication of his words all laughed evilly with ill intentions.

Kitagawa Hide was too lazy to chat with this group of people, so he made up an excuse and took Mengzi to buy tea and snacks, then slowly ran to the small courtyard behind the teahouse and quietly waited for the sunset on Mount Amagi.

The primary goal of this hike was to see the famous sunset view of Mt. Amagi in Izu.

At dusk, more and more climbers gathered nearby, but most of them went to the edge of the cliff to wait for the sunset - it was more exciting to watch the sunset and sunrise from that position, but it was too close to the edge of the mountain and it was easy to get into danger.

People tend to follow the herd blindly. Seeing a lot of people standing on the edge of the cliff, new climbers also squeezed over, preferring to stand next to each other rather than going to this relatively quiet little courtyard.

The cell phone, which had been without signal, suddenly rang. Kitagawa Hide took it out and saw that it was a call from his boss, so he answered it immediately.

Shizuko Kawaide and Rena Saito talked on the phone all day today, but no one knew where Kitagawa Hide had gone and they could not get in touch with him.

Kitagawa Hide, who has just been promoted to the "Number One in the World", is the treasure of Kawaide Shizuko.

If it wasn't for Rena Saito pulling her back, she would have almost run to the Metropolitan Police Department to call the police!
The two chatted briefly, and after confirming that Kitagawa Hide was safe, Kawaide Shizuko breathed a sigh of relief and then expressed their doubts about "The Strange Bird Chronicle".

Kitagawa Hide didn't expect that a supporting role like "Watani Noboru" would make Kawaide Shizuko and others so sensitive, and he quickly explained to the boss that he had no intention of satirizing senior political officials.

He wrote "The Strange Bird Chronicle" entirely out of his dissatisfaction with Ryutaro Hashimoto's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine and the literary world's deliberate misleading of history.

This novel aims to call for anti-war sentiment and criticize Ryutaro Hashimoto's insane shrine visit, and has no intention of attacking politics.

Of course, if those right-wing militarists insist on taking responsibility and admitting their own evil deeds, there is nothing we can do about it.

After hearing his explanation, Kawaide Shizuko and Saito Rena breathed a sigh of relief and understood Kitagawa Hide's true intention.

"That is to say, for tomorrow's new book promotion, we just need to focus on anti-war themes, right, Mr. Kitagawa?"

Shizuko Kawaide couldn't help but confirm it again.

Today is August 8th. In two days, the new issue of "Wenyi" will be on sale. Originally, the new book of a top writer like Kitagawa Hide has to be promoted at least one or two months in advance.

But Kitagawa Hide just sent me the beginning of his new book yesterday, and it’s been less than a month since “Confessions” was finished, and the new book has just come out, so the publicity and promotion work can’t keep up at all!

Therefore, after confirming all the details today, Shizuko Kawaide could only ask the publicity department and the employees in the factories below to work overtime late at night, so as to have the posters and advertisements of "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" all over Tokyo by tomorrow.

It was a bit rushed, but when they heard that it was to promote Mr. Beichuan's new book, those employees were like chicken blood, not only did they not ask for leave, many of them took the initiative to submit applications, willing to work overtime to catch up with the progress, and do their part to help Mr. Beichuan become the "best in the world"!

This is the appeal and influence of top writers.

Moreover, the employees are proud to be involved in this project and do not think it is excessive at all.

After discussing the details of the promotion, Shizuko Kawaide handed the phone to Reina Saito. She actually had a lot to say to Mr. Kitagawa, such as congratulating him on his winning the title of "World's No. 1", but when the words came to her lips, she turned cold again, thinking that forget it, she would congratulate him in person when he came back!

Rena Saito is still a workaholic.

Kitagawa Hide and Yumeko are currently on vacation in Izu, and talking about work all the time would easily make people dislike them.

But since it was about "Literary World" and "The Burmese Harp", Saito Rena thought about it again and again, and finally told Kitagawa Hide the truth.

"The report sent by the data analysis department at noon said that 'Literary World' sold 9.1 copies in the morning. It is estimated that today's total sales will exceed 12 copies without any problem."

Saito Rena glanced at the crumpled data report still in her hand, feeling both emotional and unwilling.

She and Kitagawa Hide have come a long way, from saving Kodansha from collapse to rescuing Kawaide Shobo from its turbulent days. With one hit novel after another written by Kitagawa Hide, they have repeatedly raised the first-day sales record for pure literature magazines.

Just last month.

Relying on the reputation that had been accumulated over the past year and a half, as well as the amazing popularity of the final chapter of "Confessions", the July 1996 issue of the "Wenyi" supplement set a historical sales record of 7 copies on the first day of printing, allowing her and Kitagawa Hidezane to leave a strong mark in the Japanese literary world.

Unexpectedly, less than a month later, this record was easily broken by Arima Yoshiyoshi who made a comeback!
This is only the first serialization of "The Burmese Harp". Saito Rena has read this novel over and over again many times today. It can be said that it is worthy of being called "the best in the world". The quality of the novel is far from comparable to that of Oshima Hikari and others.

Even literary giants like Ishihara Shintaro could not match the popularity and level of Arima Yoshiyoshi.

Before, she had always believed that Kitagawa Hide was omnipotent and invincible.

And he has indeed proved this with facts time and time again.

During his trip to Paris, Kitagawa Hide also brought back the Goncourt Prize, a prize that no one in Japanese history has ever won.

Before today, Rena Saito had never worried about Hide Kitagawa's new book.

But now.

It was not until the real "Number One in the World" came out and they were about to face the real mountain and "big boss" of the Japanese literary world that she realized that this would be an unprecedented fierce battle!
Can they win this battle?
Rena Saito never doubted Kitagawa Hide's strength.

But on one side was her close friend with whom she had worked together for a year and a half and knew him inside out; on the other side was a Japanese literary celebrity whom she had heard about since she was a child and who was almost invincible in her mind.

She really wasn't sure.

12 copies is a new historical record.

After hearing Saito Reina specifically mention this number, Kitagawa Hide understood it, but was not too surprised.

After all, Arima Yoshiyoshi is a long-renowned "number one writer in the world" who has broken the thirty-year rule of not writing. If he doesn't even have this kind of reputation, then the so-called "number one writer in the world" would be too empty.

"I will be able to finish writing the six chapters to be serialized in this issue in the next two days. Please help me add a preface and send it out together."

Kitagawa Hide was full of confidence and comforted Saito Rena and the boss at the same time.

"The Burmese Harp" is indeed well written, but this kind of pseudo-anti-war literature is nothing compared to real anti-war literature.

Similar themes, similar novels, once "The Strange Bird Chronicle" is serialized, it will become a magic mirror that will expose all novels of the same type and make them pale in comparison!
This is hailed as Haruki Murakami's masterpiece, a top anti-war literary novel that sold 70 copies on the first day of publication!

Rather than worrying about the aggressive challenge from Arima Yoshiyoshi, Kitagawa Hide is more concerned about Kaoruko and the others.

After arriving in Izu, Kitagawa Hide and Yumeko saw another side of Japan.

Apart from the glamorous Tokyo metropolis that everyone knows, many other places in Japan are just like Kitaizu, where groups of ordinary people live in misery after the bursting of the bubble economy.

They also love reading and yearn for a better life, but reality gives them a heavy blow.

There is an old saying that goes, "When a country prospers, the people suffer; when a country perishes, the people suffer." At this moment, as he accompanied Mengzi to watch the bright red sunset and listened to the cheers of the climbers, what Kitagawa Hide felt was not beauty, but suffocation.

Maybe he could do something and write something for these ordinary people.

Rather than those grand literary works that glorify suffering, they may need something more down-to-earth.

(End of this chapter)